SXSW 2025

What's In A Game? Gamification In UX Design

Description:

In product design, it’s easy to just slap badges or points on an interface and call it “gamification.” But how can you use principles from game theory and psychology to design an experience that’s actually fun? Dive deep into what makes a game good, such as balancing challenge and reward and creating satisfying feedback loops. And learn how game design can help with decision making in everyday life. Led by Ruthie Edwards, a UX designer, game developer, and college instructor.

Additional Supporting Materials

Slide Deck

Takeaways

  1. Fundamentally, games are about learning. The best games appeal to different learning styles and use intrinsic rewards to make challenges worthwhile.
  2. The player needs feedback to gauge their progress. Use both types of feedback (discernible and integrated) to keep players informed and engaged.
  3. Games fall on a spectrum from 0% random to 100% random. The best games have a balance of unpredictability to keep things both fun and fair.

Speakers

Organizer

Kristina King, PR Director, WONGDOODY

Meta Information:

  • Event: SXSW
  • Format: Presentation
  • Track: Game Industry
  • Track 2
  • Level: Intermediate
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